The Madras High Court has declared as illegal the act of University of Madras in having removed the name of an Academic Council member from the final list of candidates whose nominations to contest to the Syndicate had been accepted. The court has criticised the varsity heavily after finding mala fide intention behind the removal.
Justice N. Seshasayee wrote he was “amazed with the audacious stand” taken by the university to justify its action. The orders were passed while allowing a writ petition filed by M. Uma, principal of Prince Shri Venkateshwara Arts and Science College at Gowrivakkam in Chennai against the removal of her name from the final list.
Senior counsel Krishna Ravindran, representing the writ petitioner, told the court the university had come out with a notification on August 8, 2022 for elections to its Syndicate. As per Section 18(3) of the Madras University Act, 1923, five members of the Academic Council were eligible to contest to be a part of the Syndicate.
Of the five members, five should be teachers of affiliated colleges and one should be the teacher of an approved college. Since the petitioner was a teacher of an affiliated college, she filed her nominations and her name figured in the provisional list. She did not withdraw and yet her name was removed from the final list, he complained.
On the other hand, the university counsel told the court that the petitioner had not produced her salary certificate to prove that she falls under the definition of ‘teacher’ by falling under the relevant pay scale fixed either by the State government or the University Grants Commission.
Displeased with such a stand taken by the university, the judge wrote: “What is illogical about this stand is that if the petitioner does not satisfy the criterion as a teacher, she could not have been in the Academic Council at the first place.... There can be no justification for removing the petitioner from contesting in the election to the Syndicate.”
The university had also told the court that after the release of the final list of candidates on September 13, the petitioner staged a demonstration on September 14. Therefore, the Syndicate debarred her from the Academic Council for a year and as on date, she was not a part of the council.
Holding that the post facto events related to staging of demonstration, without permission, have “little to do with the fact that the removal of her name from the final list of candidates is irrational and done with malafide and is reprehensible,” the judge said: “This requires to be declared.”
